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from our
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 TCGIS Online Calendar
Upcoming Events:
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Nov. 7 - PTO Meeting
Nov. 8 - Saint Martinstag
Nov. 11 - Intern Breakfast (Kdgn. hosts)
Nov. 14 - Give to the Max Day
Nov. 14 - Conferences (afternoon/eve.)
Nov. 15 - NO SCHOOL - Conferences
Nov. 20 - Early-Release Day
Nov. 21 - Board Meeting
Nov. 28 - NO SCHOOL Thanksgiving
Nov. 29 - NO SCHOOL
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| Message from the Director |
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It's been a great week at TCGIS!
Ted shares his thanks, what interesting things he learned while visiting classes this week, and what exciting events are coming up soon.
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| Videogruß vom Direktor 07 November 2019 |
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Verstehen Sie Spaß? Our kids sure do!
Each time we reach a
fundraising goal to support our intern program, we will
celebrate
here at school! When we reach $25,000 in donations, we will release YouTube videos of brave staff members saying tongue-twisters in their non-native language.
Future incentives include things like staff and student dress-up days, graffiti, cold water and possibly even pie and a certain face!
As of today, we have raised $6,000
towards our goal! Can we get to $25,000 by Monday?
When you write a check, 100% of your donation goes to TCGIS to support the intern program!
Why not
d
onate in person at Kaffeeklatsch tomorrow
or
at conferences
next week? Look for the Fundraising table in the foyer.
Listen to TCGIS 2nd Grade teacher, Frau Uitto, talk about the value interns bring to her students and how they enhance learning in her classroom.
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| 2nd Grade teacher Frau Gabi Uitto |
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School Board Announcements
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Morning Circle & Kaffeeklatsch - TOMORROW
The School Board will host this year's first Kaffeeklatsch, a long-time TCGIS tradition, tomorrow Friday
November 8
, 8:15 am-9:30 am. Parents have the opportunity to observe morning circle time in their child's classroom, and then join other parents, administration and school board members for coffee and conversation i
n the foyer.
We look forward to seeing you!
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Family Bonfire with the School Board
The school board is hosting a bonfire as a community building and fundraising event. You may attend even if you didn't have a chance to sign up through the PTO auction. Join board members for s'mores, snacks, conversation and hot cider. Kids can also play at the playground up the hill. The suggested family donation is $10 and the board will also donate $10 to the PTO for every family that attends!
Where: Como Firepits When: Sat. Nov. 9, 3:30-5:30 pm.
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Share Your Feedback on School Policies: Nov. 11
This month's Governance & Leadership committee meeting will address some very important topics, including student discipline, curriculum development, and the Pledge of Allegiance policies. Please join us on Monday, November 11 at 3:45 in Room 99. If you cannot attend, please forward any input or comments to committee chair Stephanie Forsland
(
sforsland@tcgis.org
), Lisa Linnell (
llinnell@tcgis.org
), or Ted Anderson (
tanderson@tcgis.org
). Here is
this month's agenda.
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New Communication & Diversity Outreach Committee
The first meeting will be held on Tues, Nov 12, at 8:15am, at TCGIS in Room 99. The regular meeting time for this committee will be at 8:15am, on the second Tuesday of each month. Two major tasks will be communication with underrepresented populations about TCGIS and redesigning the school website. Smaller tasks include setting up new communication channels and writing regular pieces for local/social media on TCGIS happenings. Please contact Rich Iwen a
t
riwen@tcgis.org
if you are interested in building our school together on this committee.
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Moving to Electronic Board Packets
To preserve paper and more fully engage with TCGIS's focus on managing our resources with care, the Board will begin using primarily
electronic packets
for each monthly meeting. Packets can always be found
in the public folder
and are uploaded three days before each meeting. The Board invites you to follow along on your personal electronic device during meetings or bring your own printed packet. If you would like a printed packet and cannot print your own, an individual packet can be printed for you
if requested before 3:30 PM on the day of the Board meeting.
Please contact
Nicole Crashell
, the Administrative Assistant to the Board, with any questions or to request a printed packet.
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Martinstag Celebration: Tomorrow at 5:00 pm
Please join us for a traditional
St. Martin's Day lantern parade tomorrow evening!
The
Martinstag Laternenumzug (lantern parade) will depart from our school playground at 5:00 pm, and follow the route in red on the map below.
All families and students are invited to join in the parade, singing and carrying lanterns. Grades K-3 are making lanterns in art class; students in other classes are welcome to bring their own. The parade will include a small reenactment of the story of St. Martin by middle school students.
Family members and friends are invited to join in the singing! Here are links to lyrics for the 2 songs we will be singing during the parade. Your student can help you learn the songs.
Electric tea lights for the lanterns will be available for purchase before the parade; look for Frau Lenburg at the ping pong tables on the playground (they will also be available for purchase afterwards at the bake sale).
Following the parade, enjoy treats and cider from the
Capstone Bake Sale at Mission Presbyterian Church across the street (enter on Como). Cash is preferred, though credit cards will be accepted for transactions $5 or greater.
Please note: All students must be accompanied by a responsible adult.
Except for Kinderclub, our school building will not be open to the public during the event. Restrooms will be available at the Mission Presbyterian Church (OPC) during the bake sale.
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Text-message Communications from TCGIS
TCGIS very occasionally uses text messaging to communicate important and time-sensitive udpates to families, for instance when school is closed due to inclement weather.
TCGIS is changing the method of how you receive texts from us. This new method requires that you provide approval in order to continue receiving our texts.
Our notification provider will send a text message tomorrow morning, Friday, Nov. 8th, seeking your approval to continue receiving text messages from TCGIS. Please reply "YES" to the text message.
Once you text your approval, you will receive all TCGIS text messages from the number 87569. If you don't reply yes, then you will no longer receive text messages from TCGIS.
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Reminder: Cold-weather Gear is Necessary
It's time to find the winter gear and send it with your child(ren) to school!
All students go
outside every day
for Sport and recess and the walk to and from lunch. Please make sure your child has warm winter clothing at school, and please label everything with your child's name and class. Danke!
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Lost & Found
The Lost & Found is overflowing with so many items that are not labeled. Items labeled with a student name and class are much easier to reunite with their owner.
Please check the Lost & Found tables in the foyer
and the green boxes near your child's locker during Kaffeeklatsch and Conferences for items your child(ren) may be missing. All unclaimed items will be donated the week after Conferences.
Vielen Dank!
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In Search of Food Service Team Substitute
The TCGIS Food Service Team is looking for a substitute helper for the lunch room on days when regular lunch room staff members are taking PTO or are sick. Work hours are 10:30am-1:30pm, hourly pay rate: $12.50. We will train you in helping students with lunch check-in and light cleaning duties. Ideal for family members with a flexible daytime schedule. If you are interested, please contact Alex Weeding at
aweeding@tcgis.org
.
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Seeking Host Families for Interns next Semester
11 new Interns arrive in January to join our two full-year interns. We are looking for 2-3 more familie to host an intern from mid-January to mid-June. If you are interested, please email Katharina (
kschirg@tcgis.org) for more information. We will begin matching host families and interns around Thanskgiving.
Vielen Dank!
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Conferences Sign-up Closes Tues. Nov. 12 at 8:00 pm
Conference Dates:
Thursday, Nov 14 4:30-7pm
Friday, Nov 15 8:10am-3:30pm
If you did not receive a Constant Contact email with sign-up information please email info@tcgis.org.
Elementary School Conferences
Prior to conference scheduling, be sure to make a list of all of the teachers you would like to meet with (the scheduler does not provide this) as well as a list of times that you would like to attend.
Middle School Conferences
Conferences for
Middle School
families will be
Open Conferences
for all
Academic Teachers.
If your student is making progress (and you are comfortable with it), please don't feel obliged to attend conferences. (For more information, please reference the Middle School Update email from Oct. 30).
If you would like to meet with a Specialist (Art, Drama, Sport, Tech), you will need to sign-up for a 10 minute conference slot.
If you would like to view your student(s) grades prior to conferences, please login to PowerSchool here. If you are having trouble with your PowerSchool login, please email info@tcgis.org.
MCA Scores Available during Conferences
MCA Results from Spring of 2019 may be picked up during conferences on Thursday, Nov 14 & 15. You can pick them up at the Donation table in the lobby.
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Playground Access during Conferences
Kinderclub will be using the playground during parent teacher conferences. To ensure proper supervision for all Kinderclub children, who will be rotating locations between the playground, the school building, and OPC all day,
only those children signed in to Kinderclub will be allowed on the playground from 3:15 - 6:00 pm on Thursday and 8:00 am - 6:00 pm on Friday
.
Should your children accompany you to conferences, they must stay with you at all times. They may also wait in front of the classroom during conference time. Please do not leave them unsupervised in the school building or on the playground at any time. Thank you in advance!
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School Pictures Update
As of today, our student proofs and photos are still being processed at the Lifetouch lab and have not shipped out. We will continue to update you as we are in touch with Lifetouch regularly each week.
Photo Retake Day will be announced as soon as the the original proofs & photos ship out.
Thank you for your patience & understanding!
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Congratulations and Dankeschön to our DSD 1 grads!
Last week on Tuesday, October 29, our former 8th grade families came together to celebrate the DSD I achievements.
The DSD I (Deutsches Sprachdiplom = German Language Diploma) is the big German test our students take in 8th grade and which certifies their German language skills.
The ZfA (
Zentralstelle für Auslandsschulwesen =
Central Agency for Schools Abroad) is the sponsor and administers the DSD I exam.
With almost 80 people attending this was our biggest DSD I celebration yet! Almost all of our recently graduated TCGIS students could attend and received their DSD 1 certificates.
Congratulations to our students who worked really hard for the DSD I exam and were very successful! It was also wonderful to see graduates from past years who are siblings and still love to come back to TCGIS!
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November 5 Mausmünzen Drawing
The selected students have shown exemplary behavior at TCGIS during the school day and are representing their class and grade level.
Meistermäuse have demonstrated to staff one or more of the following praised traits: Sicherheit (safety), Verantwortung (responsibility), Respekt (respect), and Freundlichkeit (kindness).
KC - Lukas; 1A - Jacob (photo withheld by request); 2C - Nick (photo withheld by request);
3C - Ben; 4C - Liam; 6A - Isaac; 7A Cecilia (photo withheld by request);
May they continue to make our school a better place!
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PTO Updates  |
PTO Auction and Strudel Sale Update
THANK You! Numbers are still rolling in...but it looks like we have brought in $1000 from the Strudel Sale and $10,000 from the Auction!!! What an amazing community we have!
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Join Us: PTO Meeting Meal and Guest Speaker
When:
Thursday November 7
Agenda:
6:30-6:45 Meal
6:45 Childcare begins
7:00 Guest Speaker Kim Kulhanek on topic of dual language/immersion education
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Staff Appreciation Meal Sign-ups
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Important PTO Dates and Events for 2019-20
Have a look at the
2019-20 PTO Dates to see what great things we have in store this year!
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Local German Cultural Events
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Gewandhaus Orchester Leipzig performing in St. Paul
The Twin Cities was selected for the grand finale concert in the Midwest for the
Gewandhaus Orchester Quintet concert on
November 8, 7:00-8:00pm
. The venue will be the United Church of Christ, 900 Summit Avenue, St. Paul.
One of the oldest existing chamber ensembles in the world, the Gewandhaus Woodwind
Quintet was founded in 1896. The Quintet, originating in Leipzig, Germany, has performed
extensively across Germany and abroad. Celebrating the 30th anniversary of the fall of
the Berlin Wall, this program features a finale to the year of German-American friendship,
Wunderbar Together.
The new Consul General from Chicago, Wolfgang Mössinger, will give the opening address. All concert attendees are invited to the complimentary wine and cheese reception to follow.
Read more about the event
here
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Eddi Hüneke & Tobi Hebbelmann DUO Concerts
Eddi Hüneke
is a German a-cappella singer, who was in the German a-cappella group,
Wise Guys.
Their songs have been used by many a German teacher, including Waldsee and the
Goethe Institut.
Hüneke will be accompanied by Tobi Hebbelmann, who is a pianist from Cologne.
For tickets: please fill out this form
to the concert
by
Monday, November 11
!
Note:
TCGIS 5th and 7th graders will be attending one of their concerts at Spring Lake Park High School during the school day
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